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Little did Aaron and Jason Ricketts know, when they opened their Hapa Bros food truck in August 2022, that they would be helping to redefine the local mobile food scene and become the darlings of food critics and customers alike as they won multiple “Best Of” awards in San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. But things might have been different for them if they had stuck with their original offerings.
“We had tacos on the menu,” Aaron said. “I had this crazy fusion idea—and we still do fusion with our flavors—but we have gotten completely away from things like that. We did have the fried chicken, but everything else on that menu has left.”
Settling on a core menu that includes their now-legendary fried chicken sandwiches topped with kimchi coleslaw, bacon fried rice, Asian chicken salad, bulgogi dumplings and mochi waffles with strawberries, the brothers pretty much know that, wherever they park their truck, lines are going to form and they are going to have a busy day.
“I can’t imagine taking away the things that are on the menu now,” Ricketts said, “because I think I’ll have an uprising at my home. But I am ready to throw some different stuff out there just to try to do a little more.”
The biggest complication for them now is finding a commercial kitchen that can deal with the quantity of preparation they need to do each week.
“We have been using Doña Esther as our commissary kitchen,” he said. “But we are kind of tapped out for space to create much less just do the volume we have now started to do. It’s crazy. We’re so big ourselves that it’s hard to share with anybody.”
What do you do when the size of your food truck is actually constraining the growth of your business? You expand—but how?
“We are kind of taking our time to think about it,” he said. “Maybe another food truck, but that involves more kitchen space too. I think a logical step would be to have a small dining room and restaurant. Nothing big. We don’t want to abandon our San Benito customer base.”
Currently, the brothers try to hit at least three locations a week, which usually include San Benito Roots, the seasonal San Benito Street Farmers Market, the current Food Truck Tuesdays in Hollister, and, of course, a place that they have come to consider their second home, Vertigo Coffee Roasters in San Juan Bautista.
“The Hapa Bros are great people serving high-quality food,” said Ryan Morris, manager of Vertigo Coffee. “When they are here, they help our business out immensely, and we benefit from having their customers hang out with us, excited about the food they are eating.”
Their insistence on using only fresh ingredients is one of the limiting factors to the business, Ricketts said. Unlike the offerings from some food trucks, with the Hapa Bros, everything is made from scratch.
“You could call some of the truck owners the night before,” he said. “They could stop at the store in the morning, and they can be open that afternoon. There is a three- or four-day process for my chicken even before it hits the fryer. Nothing is frozen.”
The time-consuming process of preparing the food is one reason they are starting to shy away from big events like the county fair.
“There’s no way you’re gonna get us to do those kinds of things again,” he said. “It is hard to prep everything for that kind of demand. It is [an] insane volume and, in my opinion, good food is not fast food. People expect our food to take a little more time, and I am not going to sacrifice quality to do some crazy number.”
On a good day, the Hapa Bros can turn out about 200 sandwiches, with them prepping up to 1,000 pounds of chicken a week, but as new customers become regulars, they are seeing a shift toward their other offerings. Ricketts said that, while the chicken sandwich sells no matter where they go, their San Benito customers are more likely to order the fried rice, dumplings, or sweet and sour pork riblets.
“I’d rather have a bigger menu and just kind of have more fun with it,” he said. “That’s what people have grown to enjoy. They don’t just come for the sandwich anymore. They come and get dinner for the whole family.”
One of the biggest changes over the course of the year was the addition of the third Hapa Brother, Scott Ricketts, who joined the business at the beginning of the year.
“He was the last brother to kind of hold out in Boston,” Aaron said. “So now the whole family is together out here, and three boys are living together and working together. He’s been a good addition, which really helps with the increase in volume we’ve been seeing.”
Scott said that when he saw how excited the community was about his brothers’ business, he knew he wanted to be a part of it.
“I wanted to get in while there is still work to be done,” he said, “so I didn’t seem like I was just jumping in when it was all easy. To be totally honest, it took me a few months to really get self-sufficient and be able to do things without them looking over my shoulder.”
In the end, all three Hapa Bros are grateful for their regulars, who have gotten them through some times when they have had to struggle against forces that threatened their business.
“The most rewarding thing for us is the loyalty they have,” said Ricketts. “It’s been amazing, and we would like to relay how much we appreciate them and how much they mean to us. They are why we are still around despite certain hardships we’ve had with this county.”
The Food of the Hapa Bros –
The Chicken Sandwich – The sandwich that put their food truck on the map, the chicken sandwich is the best introduction to the food they produce. “We have tightened it up a little,” Ricketts said, “like putting the coleslaw on the side to keep the chicken crispier. And I have made the sauce more viscous so it sticks on better.” It is a real coin toss for me because I like the coleslaw on the sandwich, but I love it as a side dish as well. But no matter how you eat it, whether on the sandwich or off, you are not going to get a more tender, flavorful or perfect sandwich. Between the kimchi coleslaw, the soy caramel sauce and the light breading on the seasoned chicken, every bite is a delight. I like the spicier version—it has a nice kick that the coleslaw mellows. There is also a chicken and waffle version, which lacks the coleslaw but is charming in its own right.
Bacon Fried Rice – The most traditional item on the menu, this dish harkens back to mornings when their grandmother would cook this for breakfast. “It is one of the items that gives our menu a family touch,” Ricketts said. “Most of the menu is just things I like to eat, and this is not a consistent seller. It’s kind of a sentimental thing more than anything else.” It is a simple dish that really hits home and is worth getting an extra order just for the leftovers.
Bulgogi Dumplings – “We used to do bulgogi egg rolls, but I had to take them out,” Ricketts said. “When they were good, they were good, but sometimes they would get saturated with oil and explode.” I do miss the egg rolls, with their crispy exterior, but the tender beef filling works just as well in these pot-sticker-shaped dumplings. Topped with a Korean teriyaki sauce, the dough encases thin-sliced marinated beef, creating a frankly irresistible treat with a complex sweet and savory flavor profile that delights the palate.
Shredded Chicken Salad – “This is a departure from the fried items we have,” Ricketts said. “It is refreshing, and sometimes people just want something a little lighter and more natural.” The salad uses cabbage, which has a nice cool crunch and is topped with a unique Asian salad dressing. “Everybody tells us that the dressing is the best part,” he said. “It brightens and elevates everything, and it actually gets better the longer it sits.” Each order is enough for two to share as a light lunch, and you might become addicted to the dressing. It soaks into the ingredients very nicely and provides a burst of umami that will put a smile on your face.
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
